Treasury

Revenue and Customs: Standards

Baroness Eaton: To ask His Majesty's Government what is the average length of time taken byHMRC to process tax payments.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The average time taken to process tax payments is two working days. This is from the date the customer makes payment to the date it is shown on the customer’s HMRC record (plus postage time if the customer pays by cheque).

Taxation: Self-assessment

Lord Livermore: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to theanswer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 10 January (HL Deb col 8), where it was asserted that His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs has forecasts for how many people will be filling in tax returns or required to pay tax, whether they will publish the forecasts for the next five years.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The estimated number of people required to pay income tax over the next five years was published in the Office for Budget Responsibility’s November 2023 Economic and Fiscal Outlook[1]. [1] Table 1.1, https://obr.uk/docs/dlm_uploads/Nov-2023-EFO-additional-taxpayers-by-tax-rate-band.pdf

Economic Growth: Brexit

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the report by Cambridge EconometricsLondon's Economy After Brexit: Impacts and Implications, published on 11 January, which estimated that economicgrowth was "2–3 per cent lower in 2023 than had Brexit not occurred ... and is expected to gradually increase to 5–6 per cent by 2035", what steps they are taking to support the resilience and growth of industries affected by any economic challenges that have arisen as a result of the UK's departure from the EU.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), which came into force at the beginning of 2021, is the world’s biggest zero-tariff, zero-quota trade deal. It is the first time the EU has ever agreed such access in a Free Trade Agreement.The Government has implemented a number of measures to support businesses trading with the EU, and with the rest of the world. This includes through an ambitious programme of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations, further support to SMEs and the intermediary sector, and direct financial support to businesses.More broadly, this government remains focussed on the biggest opportunities to drive growth and productivity. At Autumn Statement, the government built on its comprehensive £7 billion employment package from Spring Budget 2023 by announcing a new £2.5 billion Back to Work Plan. This means that the combined impacts of the Spring and Autumn policy measures will increase the number of people in employment by around 200,000 by the end of the forecast, permanently increasing the size of the economy. In addition, the government announced an ambitious package which could boost business investment by around £20 billion per year in a decade's time. This includes making full expensing permanent - a tax cut to companies of over £10bn a year; providing £4.5bn of funding for the UK’s strategic manufacturing sectors; and reforming our inefficient planning system.

Revenue and Customs: Electronic Government

Lord Lipsey: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have for ensuring that setting up a Government Gateway account is more straightforward and accessible.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: A simple Government Gateway account can be created with only an email address. The customer is provided with a unique username (Government Gateway ID) and is asked to create a password. This account will not have identity checks associated to it, so can only be used to access Government services which do not require identity checking. Where a customer needs to access services requiring identity checking, additional Identity Verification steps are provided by Government Gateway, based on the identity information the customer has available to them. It is recognised that this can be difficult for some customers, particularly those with limited digital skills or limited documented identity sources. All Government Gateway Services follow accessibility rules and guidelines, when building, improving, or changing our systems. As well as completing user research and user testing to understand the impact to our customers. This testing is completed with a wide range of different users to understand the impact on our customers. A Disability Impact Assessment is always completed, working with our accessibility partners to ensure that all accessibility needs are considered in anything we do. From Spring 2024 onwards, HMRC will begin to migrate new and some existing Government Gateway customers to GOV.UK One Login. This is the Governments new strategic authentication and identity checking system, operated by the Government Digital Service in Cabinet Office, which is making it easier and faster for users to prove and reuse their identity to access the government services they need. Improving accessibility is at the heart of GOV.UK One Login; it offers multiple ways for people to prove who they are, including an in-person option, and a customer support centre to help users with lower digital skills Initially, only a small number of users will be able to access HMRC services through GOV.UK One Login, with volumes building over time. This measured approach is designed to ensure a high quality experience for users as we expand its roll out.

Personal Savings

Lord Sikka: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to investigate the rates of saving by UK households.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Government is committed to incentivising greater saving and investment, to help households save for their future goals and build greater financial resilience. Individuals can save up to £20,000 into an Individual Savings Account (ISA) each year, and any savings income received on cash within an ISA is tax free. This, coupled with the Personal Savings Allowance of up to £1,000 for basic rate taxpayers and up to £500 for higher rate taxpayers, means that around 90% of people with savings income pay no tax on that income. Individuals aged 18 or over but under 40 can also open a Lifetime ISAs to save for buying a first home or for later life. Last year, the Chancellor also secured agreement from the FCA to review the cash savings market. As a result, the FCA have published a 14-point action plan. Under the plan, firms should ensure they are effectively communicating their full range of suitable savings products to customers. The Government will continue to monitor the rates of saving by UK households as part of its wider economic monitoring.

Income Tax

Lord Sikka: To ask His Majesty's Government how many adults in the UK are not expected to pay any income tax in 2023–24.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The number of adults (people aged 18 and over) in the UK estimated to not pay any Income Tax in 2023-24 is approximately 17.8 million (rounded to 3 significant figures).

Home Office

Radicalism

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb: To ask His Majesty's Government what guidance they are providing for Prevent practitioners on the circumstances under which they are required to refer an individual involved in human rights, social justice or environmental activism who is not expressing support for violence.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: Prevent practitioners should follow the Prevent duty guidance. Free training is available on gov.uk which includes the notice, check, share procedure. Practitioners should consider whether they believe the person may be on a pathway that could lead to terrorism. Those with specific Prevent responsibilities are expected to have a good understanding of extremist ideologies as a key driver of radicalisation and should complete any required ideology training.

Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill: Northern Ireland Protocol

Baroness Hoey: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill on the continuing application of the provisions in Article 2 of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland (Rights of individuals).

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: The Bill will apply in full in Northern Ireland in the same way it does in the rest of the UK. This is also set out on the face of the Bill reflecting that immigration policy is a UK-wide matter.There is nothing in the Windsor Framework that affects that. The rights chapter of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement does not affect any clause within the Bill in any way.

Asylum: Bibby Stockholm

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford: To ask His Majesty's Government what risk assessments are carried out when facilitating room-sharing on the Bibby Stockholm, and at what intervals this is repeated after the outset of an asylum seeker’s relocation to the vessel.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: The welfare of asylum seekers is our utmost priority. The Home Office ensures that accommodation provided is adequate and regularly reevaluates to ensure it meets the regulatory standards.

Department for Business and Trade

Small Businesses: Government Assistance

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to support small firms struggling financially as a result of adverse economic conditions.

Lord Offord of Garvel: Small and medium sized businesses are the backbone of our economy, driving economic growth. The Department for Business and Trade continues to deliver over 40 support schemes that help businesses start, grow and export. At the Autumn Statement, my Rt Hon Friend the Chancellor announced further support for SMEs over the next five years. This support can be accessed through local Growth Hubs, Help to Grow and a dedicated Business Support Helpline. In addition, The British Business Bank improves access to finance to help businesses invest and grow. It currently supports over £12.2bn of finance to over 96,000 SMEs.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill

Lord Truscott: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential impact of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill on the cost and speed of extending leaseholds.

Lord Truscott: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will specify (1) the deferment rate, and (2) the rate for discounting future ground rent schemes, in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill.

Lord Truscott: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to set the deferment rate in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill to 5per cent or greater.

Lord Truscott: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether leasehold reform breaches the human rights of freeholders as property owners.

Lord Truscott: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce an online calculator for the cost of lease extensions under the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill.

Baroness Penn: Our reforms will make it cheaper and easier for leaseholders to extend their lease or purchase their freehold. An Impact Assessment for the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill has been carried out and published on the Parliament website at: Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill publications - Parliamentary Bills - UK Parliament.The rates used in enfranchisement valuation calculations will be prescribed by the Secretary of State and the Government is giving further consideration to how these rates should be reached.The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill is A1P1 ECHR compliant as introduced on 27 November 2023.We are going to launch an online calculator which will help leaseholders understand how much it will cost to extend their lease or purchase their freehold upfront.Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill  (pdf, 71.9KB)

Department of Health and Social Care

Hidradenitis Suppurativa: Employment

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to inform and educate employers and occupational health professionals about the specific workplace adaptations that people with Hidradenitis suppurativa may require.

Lord Markham: As set out in the Government response to the Occupational Health: Working Better consultation published last year, the Government will develop a voluntary minimum framework for quality occupational health, aiming to set out the minimum level of provision that employers can adopt to support those with health conditions and disabilities in the workplace. This builds on the development of a digital information and advice service for employers, offering tailored guidance on health and disability, to equip employers to have work and health conversations and signpost to sources of expert support. A copy of the Government response to the consultation is attached. The Government also announced that it will identify longer-term options to build multidisciplinary workforce capability in work and health, building on existing work with the sector and exploring opportunities for businesses and providers to improve support for their employees. The Occupational Health Workforce Expansion Funding Scheme launched in July 2023 funds doctors and nurses to undertake occupational health training courses and qualifications with 99 doctors and nurses trained to date.Occupational Health - Working Better (pdf, 397.0KB)

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Earl Russell: To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to making COVID-19 vaccines available for people to buy privately.

Lord Markham: There are no plans to make the COVID-19 vaccines the Government holds for National Health Service use available for purchase. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), a body of independent experts, advises the Government on who should be offered vaccination through the national programme for COVID-19. Vaccination for COVID-19 through the NHS is free for those eligible.Current COVID-19 vaccines offer good protection against serious outcomes but only short-lived protection from mild symptomatic disease. The aim therefore is to offer vaccination to those the JCVI advises are at higher risk of hospitalisation and death. This risk is strongly linked to older age and some specified clinical conditions.All vaccines that have been licensed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency for use in the United Kingdom may be prescribed by physicians privately as well as through the NHS. Currently COVID-19 vaccines are not available privately but as is the case for many other vaccines, manufacturers and providers are able to set up a private market alongside the NHS offer when they consider this viable and appropriate. The Government is supportive of the emergence of a private market for COVID-19 vaccines. Supply of vaccines for such a market would be, as with all other vaccines, a matter for the private providers working with manufacturers to obtain through the open market.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Earl Russell: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to maintain avaccine-based immunity in the under-65s given thespread of the JN.1 COVID-19 sub-variant.

Lord Markham: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), a body of independent experts, advises the Government on who should be offered vaccination through the national programme for COVID-19. JCVI advice continues to be aimed at reducing hospitalisation and mortality in those groups which are at higher risk of serious outcomes from the disease. Throughout the pandemic, older people have been amongst those most likely to experience severe disease if infected by SARS-CoV-2. Existing data on hospital admissions in the United Kingdom is consistent with the clinical risk continuing to be strongly age related, as well as associated with specified existing clinical conditions. The JCVI view based on the available data is that due to a combination of naturally acquired and vaccine derived immunity in the population, otherwise known as hybrid immunity, COVID-19 is now a relatively mild disease for most people. This is why JCVI advice to date is that the COVID-19 national programme should be targeted to those at higher risk of developing serious COVID-19 disease. More information regarding current eligibility for seasonal vaccination is available in chapter 14a of the Green Book, a copy of which is attached. The JCVI continues to regularly review the emerging data on COVID-19 for each new campaign they recommend.Attachment (pdf, 489.4KB)

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Drugs

Lord Allen of Kensington: To ask His Majesty's Government what stepsthey are taking to ensure there is a sufficient and reliable supply of medicines to help patients suffering from ADHD.

Lord Markham: Disruptions to the supply of medicines used for the management of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have been primarily driven by issues which have resulted in capacity constraints at key manufacturing sites. The Department has been working closely with the respective manufacturers and some issues have now been resolved. However, we know that there continue to be disruptions to the supply of some other medicines, which should largely resolve by April or May 2024. We have also added ADHD products to the list of medicines that cannot be exported from, or hoarded in, the United Kingdom to protect UK supplies for patients.There is a team within the Department that deals specifically with medicine supply problems arising both in the community and in hospitals. It has well-established procedures to manage medicine supply issues, whatever the cause, and help to prevent shortages and minimise risks to patients by working closely with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the pharmaceutical industry, NHS England, and others operating in the supply chain.We understand how frustrating and distressing medicine supply issues can be and we want to assure patients that we are working with the respective manufacturers to resolve the issues with ADHD medicine supply in the UK as soon as possible and to help ensure patients are able to access these medicines in the short and long term.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Forests: Commodities

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government whatsteps they have taken to ensure that regulated persons in relation to forest risk commodities establish and implement due diligence systems in relation to those commodities, as required under the Environment Act 2021.

Lord Benyon: The UK Government introduced new legislation through the Environment Act to tackle illegal deforestation in UK supply chains. Recent research estimates that around 70% of global tropical deforestation for commercial agriculture between 2013 and 2019 was conducted in violation of national laws. The Government announced further details of our Forest Risk Commodities regulations at COP28 in December. The new law will make it illegal for larger organisations, with a global annual turnover of more than £50m, to use key forest risk commodities produced on land illegally occupied or used. Initial secondary legislation will focus on four commodities identified as key drivers of deforestation: cattle products (excluding dairy), cocoa, palm oil and soy. Organisations in scope will also be required to undertake a due diligence exercise on their supply chains and to report on this exercise annually. To ensure transparency, information about businesses' due diligence exercises will be published.  Businesses in scope that do not comply with these requirements may be subject to fines and other civil sanctions. The secondary legislation required to operationalise the Environment Act provisions will be laid as soon as parliamentary time allows.

Food: Inflation

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to manage grocery inflation in light of disruption to the Red Sea and the potential delay in shipping times.

Lord Douglas-Miller: The UK has a highly resilient food supply chain, which is well equipped to deal with situations with the potential to cause disruption. Our high degree of food security is built on supply from diverse sources: strong domestic production as well as imports through stable trade routes. The proportion of UK food imports using the Red Sea routes is extremely small and we do not expect the disruption to have a significant impact on UK consumer food prices in the short term. We produce 60% of all the food we need, and 73% of food which we can grow or rear in the UK for all or part of the year. These figures have changed little over the last 20 years, and the Government is committed to maintaining the amount of food produced domestically to support our farmers.

Department for Transport

Legislation: Reviews

Lord Norton of Louth: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to undertake post-legislative review of (1) the Automated and Electrical Vehicles Act 2018, (2) the Haulage Permits and Trailer Registration Act 2018, (3) the Laser Misuse (Vehicles) Act 2018, and (4) the Space Industry Act 2018, in line with the policy of reviewing Acts three to five years after enactment.

Lord Davies of Gower: Part 1 of The Automated and Electric Vehicles Act 2018 concerning automated vehicles was reviewed by the Law Commission in the report ‘Automated Vehicles’ on 26 January 2022 as part of a wider review into future automated vehicle law. Part 2 of the Act concerning electric vehicles was reviewed by the Government in the publication 'Automated and Electric Vehicles Act 2018 Regulatory Report 2022' on 31 May 2023. Both the Laser Misuse (Vehicles) Act 2018 and the Haulage Permits and Trailer Registration Act 2018 are not currently under consideration for post-legislative reviews. The Haulage Permits and Trailer Registration Act 2018 does not contain a review clause as it pertains to EU exit. The Laser Misuse (Vehicles) Act 2018 does not have a review clause and thus far there has not been any secondary legislation brought in to support the Act. Therefore, a review would be disproportionate to complete at this time. The Department for Transport has commenced a review of the Space Industry Act (2018), which will conclude at the end of March 2024 and be published alongside a wider review being undertaken by the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology.

Electric Scooters: Death and Injuries

Lord Storey: To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) pedestrians, and (2) drivers, have been (a) injured, or (b) killed, by electric scooters in each of the past three years.

Lord Davies of Gower: DfT reports on the number of personal injury road traffic collisions involving e-scooters, in Great Britain, using the STATS19 reporting system. STATS19 data does not allow the precise cause of collisions to be determined so it is not possible to provide figures for injuries or deaths caused by a particular road user type. The table shows the number of reported road casualties for pedestrians and drivers of motorised vehicles (including cars, motorcycles, buses, coaches, and good vehicles) in collisions involving e-scooters by severity in Great Britain, 2020 to 2022 (the latest year for which data is available).  YearRoad user typeKilledSerious injury (adjusted)Slight injury (adjusted)Total casualties2020Pedestrians01344572021Pedestrians0661632292022Pedestrians1601722332020Motorised vehicle drivers0213152021Motorised vehicle drivers0327302022Motorised vehicle drivers033538

Department for Work and Pensions

Local Housing Allowance

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for annually indexing Local Housing Allowance to rent levels.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: The Secretary of State (SoS) has recently completed his review of Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates for 2024/25. As announced by the Chancellor in the recent Autumn Statement, from April 2024 the Government will be investing £1.2 billion increasing LHA rates to the 30th percentile of local market rents. This ensures 1.6 million private renters in receipt of Housing Benefit, or the Housing Element of Universal Credit will gain, on average, nearly £800 per year in additional help towards their rental costs in 2024/25. This is a significant investment of £7bn over five years.The SoS has committed to reviewing LHA rates annually, usually in the Autumn. The rates for 2025/26 have not yet been reviewed.The department works closely with stakeholders, jobcentres, and local authorities to understand the impact of its policies.

Department for Education

Alternative Education and Out-of-school Education

Lord Storey: To ask His Majesty's Government how many alternative education schools are (1) registered, and (2) unregistered.

Baroness Barran: During the 2022/23 academic year there were 335 state funded alternative provision schools registered in England. Data on the number of state funded alternative provision schools is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics. Independent schools can also cater for children requiring alternative provision. There is no specific designation for such schools. The department does not collect data on the number of alternative provision settings, typically called unregistered alternative provision, that do not meet the criteria to register as a school.